Diaries, 1898-1902The manuscript of Alma Mahler's Diaries, a pile of old exercise books, lay unread and seemingly illegible in the library of an American university. In search of the truth about Alma and Alexander Zemlinsky, Antony Beaumont read them -- and found what he was looking for. But he found far more: the authentic saga of one of the century's most charismatic personalities. The Diaries depict in intimate detail the four years during which Alma grew from adolescence into womanhood. Opening with her first, heady affair with Gustav Klimt, they break off shortly before her marriage to Gustav Mahler. 'To me, ' writes Beaumont, 'reading The Diaries is like raising a curtain, behind which stands the Vienna of 1900 in all its majesty, and so close that one can almost reach out and touch it. The vitality of everyday life, eye-witness accounts of significant artistic events, unique insights into the behavioural patterns and linguistic conventions of homo austriacus -- all these serve to make the book unique.' Having come to grips with Alma's handwriting, Beaumont and his co-editor for the German edition, Susanne Rode-Breymann, added meticulously researched commentaries and annotations. The German edition was published in the autumn of 1997. |
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Common terms and phrases
afternoon Alex Alma Alma Mahler Alma Schindler Arnold Rosé arrived artist asked Aunt beautiful Burckhard Burgtheater Carl Carl Moll composed concert Conrat dear December delightful diary dinner Dr Pollack dreadfully Engelhart Ernst everything eyes feel fellow felt Frau Radnitzky Fräulein Friday gave Götterdämmerung Gretl Gretl Hellmann Gustav Gustav Klimt Hancke happy heart Hennebergs Hermann Bahr Herr Hoffmann Josef Khnopff kissed Klimt Koloman Moser Labor Lanner later laughed Legler letter lieder Lilli Lehmann look lunch Mahler Mama Moll married Mayreder Meistersinger Monday morning Moser Muhr never Olbrich once opera Orig piano picture played postcard Reininghaus sang Saturday scarcely Schmedes Secession Siegfried sitting song Spitzer spoke St Gilgen Sunday sweet Symphony talk There's thing thought Thursday told took Tristan Tuesday Ver sacrum Vienna Vienna Conservatoire Vienna Secession Wagner walked Wednesday wonderful word write Yesterday young Zemlinsky Zierers